Suction cleaning apparatus



June 1962 D. c. KRAMMES 3,040,362

SUCTION CLEANING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 8, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 26,1962 D. c. KRAMMES SUCTION CLEANING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledAug. 8, 1958 June 1962 D. c. KRAMMES SUCTION CLEANING APPARATUS FiledAug. 8, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,040,362 SUCTIONCLEANING APPARATUS Don C. Krarnmes, Canton, Ohio, assignor to The HooverCompany, North Canton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Aug. 8, 1958,Ser. No. 754,093 Claims. (Cl. -320) 7 The present invention relates to afloor cleaning appliance and more particularly to a self-containedappliance, complete in and of itself for dispensing a clean detergentsolution onto. the floor, for scrubbing the floor with the detergentsolution and for removing the dirty detergent solution from the floor.

The appliance of the, present invention is particularly adapted for usein scrubbing and cleaning hard surface floors such as bare floors,linoleum and tiled covered floors, etc.

The present invention relates to the general arrangement of such anappliance to provide for the best utilization of the parts of thedevice, to provide for the most compact arrangement of the parts of suchan appiiance and to provide an arrangement of the parts for ease ofoperation of the appliance.

The present invention also provides a cleaning appliance of the typedescribed in which all of the parts are mounted on top of a frameworkwhich consists of the manipulating handle, the suction tube of theappliance, a casting which forms a part of the suction duct work and amolding which also forms the Water separator and non-return valvevessel.

Specifically, according to the present invention the parts of theappliance are arranged in a line or in end to end relationship. Startingat the bottom, first is the scrubbing and water pick-up nozzle whichrests on the floor and supports the major portion of the weight of theappliance when the latter is in use. Next is the lower section of thesuction tube which connects the nozzle to a casting which forms a partof the duct work and also the support for the motor-fan unit. The lowersection of the suction tube is cunved to form a space for receiving themotor-fan unit which is supported from the underside of the casting.

The motor-fan unit is thus positioned immediately behind the suctionnozzle so that practically its entire weight is carried by the nozzle,it being noted that the motorfan unit is one of the heaviest parts ofthe appliance.

Next in line with the motor-fan unit and clamped between the upper sideof the casting and the underside of a molding which forms a part of theduct system and also the water separator and non-return water valvevessel, is the water tank (also a heavy part), the clamp being rotatablymounted on the lower casting and operable to press the top of the watertank against the lower face of the molding, the latter being providedwith an opening for dripping dirty water into the tank.

At its lower end the tank is provided with a valved dispensing openingwhich discharges into an open recess in the casting provided with adispensing tube leading to the floor and thus requires no seal.

To release the tank for removal from the appliance it is only necessaryto release the clamp and lift it from its position between the castingand separator vessel.

The removable tank forms an important part of the present invention, inthat it is thus easily removable from the appliance for emptying orrefilling without disconnecting any air or liquid conduits.

The water tank per se is in the form of a combined clean detergentsolution dispenser and dirty water collector or storage vessel and isdisclosed and claimed in my co-pending application, Serial No. 652,565,filed April 12, 1957.

ice

vBack of the water tank and forming a part of the supporting framework,the casting and the molding are connected centrally by the lower end ofthe manipulating handle and at the sides by a wet suction tube sectionwhich interiorly connects the lower suction tube section with the waterseparator and a dry suction tube section which interio-rly connects thewater separator to the lower casting and thence to the suction side ofthe motor-fan unit. The Wet and dry suction tube sections may be made offlexible material in which case the handle and the lower suction tubesection would form the sole supporting framework for the various partsof the appliance.

The handle extends entirely through the upper molding and extends aboveit to form a hand grip portion. I

The handle houses the electric cord and a control rod for the watervalve, the latter being actuated by a pivoted lever near the upper endof the handle. Behind the water separator, the control rod extendsthrough a slot in the side of the handle and then downwardly into aposition to actuate a dispensing valve in the bottom of the water tank.The specific water control arrangement forms no part of the presentinvention but is disclosed and claimed in my oo-pending application,Serial No. 753,900 filed concurrently herewith, now Patent No.2,986,764, dated June 6, 1961.

Thus starting from the bottom and extending upwardly, the operatingparts of the appliance are arranged in alignment as follows: thescrubbing and water pick-up nozzle, the lower suction tube section andmotor-fan unit in side by side relationship, the lower casting whichforms a part of the suction duct work, the water tank and wet and drysuction tube sections in front and rear relationship, the combined Waterseparator and a non-return water valve vessel and the upper handlesection which carries the Water valve control.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent as the description proceeds when taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the appliance of the present inventionshowing the water tank removed from its normal position on theappliance,

FIG. 2 is a view, partly in section, of the lower part of the applianceof FIG. 1 showing how the detergent solution is dispensed,

FIG. 3 is a front view of the appliance of FIG. '1 partly in section,showing the air flow path through the device and,

FIG. 4 is a segmental sectional view of the water tank showing thedispensing valve arrangement. 7

Referring to the drawings the appliance of the present inventioncomprises a combined scrubbing and water pick-up nozzle 10 detachablyconnected to a lower section 11 of a suction tube, a casting 12, amotor-fan unit generally indicated by the reference numeral 13, a Watertank 14, a wet suction tube section 15, a dry suction tube section 16, alower handle section 17, a molding 18 which forms the water separatorand non-return water valve vessel as well as part of the suction ductwork and an upper handle section 19 having a water flow control lever 20pivotally mounted adjacent its upper end. As noted from FIG. 1, theparts just described are arranged in alignment or end to endrelationship from the bottom to the top of the appliance.

As shown in FIG. 3, the molding 18 is molded into two parts 21 and 22which are cemented together. The upper part 21 constitutes the Waterseparator and the lower part 22 constitutes the non-return water valvevessel.

Per se, the water separator and non-return water valve vessel forms nopart of the present invention and is dis- 3 v V closedand claimed in myco-pending application, Serial No. 754,035 filed concurrently herewithnow Patent No. 2,955,674, dated October 11, 1960.

As shown in dotted lines at 23 and 24 of FIG. 3, the molding 22'is boredto receive the upper end of suction tube sections and 16. The bores 23and 24 are extended at 25 and 26 to form part of the suction ductsystom, the bore 25 serving to conduct wet air to the water separatorsection 21 and the bore 26 serving to conduct dry air from the separatorto the tube 16. As shown in-FIG. 1 the non-return water valve vessel 22is provided with an outlet opening 27 through which dirty water dripsinto the water tank 14.

The water tank 14 is shown in FIG. 4 and includes an outer casing 28 andan inner dirty water bag 29 which is supported on the interior of thecasing 28 by means of a combined seal and support 30 having a flange 31which rests on a shoulder 32 formed on the interior upper end of casing28. The flange 31 serves to form a seal between the shoulder 32 and thebottom rim of molding 22 when the upper end of the casing 28 ispositioned about the recess 33 (FIG. 3) formed in the lower end ofmolding 22.

In normal use as shown at FIG. 1, the water tank 14 is at an angle andaccordingly the bottom of casing 28 is formed at an angle as shovm at34. An outlet opening 35-is formed in the wall 34 adapted to be closedby a needle valve 36 which abuts against a gasket 37 when in its closedposition. The valve 36 is attached to a leaf spring 38 which normallyholds the valve in closed position. The spring 38 is secured to thebottom of the tank 14 and is provided with an extension 39 which iscontacted'by the lower end 40 of a valve actuating rod 41 as will beexplained hereinafter.

As shown in FIG. 3, the casting 12 is provided with a through bore 42for receiving the upper end of the lower section 11 of the suction tubeand the lower end of wet suction tube 15 so as to also form a part ofthe suction duct system. The casting 12 is also provided with a bore 43for receiving the lower end of dry suction tube 16. This bore isenlarged at 44 for receiving a molding 45 leading from the end of thedry suction tube section 16 to the eye 46 of the fan 47. The fan 47 isof the multi-stage type and is housed within separable housing sectionsas shown, the upper section also forming the bottom wall for the molding45 to complete the duct from thetube 16 to the fan eye 46. The motor-fanunit 13 is secured to the underside of casting 12 in any suitablemanner.

The casting 12 is also providedwith a bore 57 for receiving the lowerend of handle section 17. Thus in addition to forming part of thesuction duct work of the system, the casting 12 also forms part of thesupporting frame work of the appliance.

The lever20'is adapted to be pulled upwardly toward the handle to pushthe valve rod 41 downwardly against the bias of spring 48 (FIGS. 2 and4) so that the lower end 40 of rod 41 contacts the extension 39ofspr'ing 38 to open the valve 36 as shown in FIG. 2.

The casting 12 (FIG. 2) beneath the 'valve 36, when the water tank 14 isassembled, is provided with a pocket 49. 1 An outlet opening 50 isformed in the bottom wall of pocket 49. The outlet 50 communicates witha detergent dispensing tube' 51 which discharges immediately behind thenozzle 10.

The casting 12'also forms a base for the water tank clamp 55 which ismounted for rotation on the upper surface of thecasting 12. The clamp 55includes a plate 56 having cam surfaces on its bottom which coact withcam surfaces on the top face of the casting 12 so that rotation of theplate will push clamp 55 upwardly against the bottom of tank 14 and inturn force it upwardly into sealing-engagement with the rim of therecess 33 of molding 22.

The motor-fan unit 13, the lower suction tube section 11 and thedispensingtube 51 are housed within a separ- I 4 able housing 52 whichextends downwardly from the casting 12 and surrounds the tube 11immediately to the rear of the nozzle 11). Thelmotor-fan unit preferablyexhausts into housing 52 and openings in its bottom wall may provide forthe air exit. Vent opening 53 is also provided in housing 52 for theexit of motor cooling air. A switch 54 is provided'on'the handle forcontrolling the operation of the motor-fanunit.

Operation When it is desired to use the appliance, the water tank 14 isremoved as shown in FIG. 1 and the bag 29 removed. Detergent solution isthen poured into the casing 28 until it is substantially filled. The bag29 is then replaced and it is to be noted that since it is empty it willfloat on top of the detergent solution. The tank 14 is then placed inposition as in FIG. 2 and the clamp 55 actuated to press it upwardlyagainst the bottom of the molding 22 and thus form-aseal between theupper end of the tank 14 and molding 22.

The appliance is then moved to the scene of operation and themanipulating handle used to move the appliance about over the surface tobe cleaned.

The first operation is to dispense detergent solution onto the floor.This is done without the motor-fan unit being in operation.

In dispensing detergent the lever 20 is moved upwardly which pushesvalve rod 41 downwardly so that its lower end 40 engages the end39 ofspring 38 and pulls the valve 36 from its seat. The water will then flowdownwardly into pocket 49 and through the dispensing tube 51 and ontothe floor behind the nozzle 10 as shown in FIG. 2. When the lever 20 isreleased the spring 48 moves the lever back 'to its neutral positionpermitting the valve 36 to close under the bias of spring 38.

Clean detergent solution is thus intermittently dis-' pensed as neededas the nozzle 10 is moved back and forth along the floor. The weight ofthe motor-fan unit will apply pressure to the nozzle 10 in addition tothat applied by the operator in manipulating the device so that thenozzle brushes will be pressed firmly against the floor and scrub thedirt loose therefrom.

It is to be noted that as the soap solution is dispensed from the tank14 the level therein falls that the bottom of bag 29 will fall with itto provide space within the tank for the later collection of dirty watertherein.

After an area has been properly scrubbed with soapy water, the dirtywater may be picked up by actuating switch 54 to energize the motor-fanunit, at which time the valve 36 should remain closed. The nozzle 10 isthen moved about over the floor by manipulation of handle 19.

Operation of the motor-fan unit produces a suction at the nozzle 10 andsucks up the dirty soapy water from the floor. This dirty waterwill passthrough the lower suction tube suction 11, through the wet suction tubesection 15, through the bore 25 and into the water separator 21 wherethe dirty. water is separated from the The dried air then passes throughbore 26, dry suction tube 16, the passage of molding. 45, fan eye 46 andinto the fan 47 from which it is exhausted to atmosphere throughthebottom of the housing 52 and against the 'floor where it will producesome drying eifect.

The dirty water separated from the air in the water separator 21 willflow downwardly'through the non-return water valve molding 22 and out ofthe opening 27 and drop into the interior of the dirty water :bag 29 andthus occupy a space in the tank 14 formerly occupied by the cleandetergent solution.

It is to be noted that the water tank 14 is usually substantially fullof either clean detergent solution, dirty water or a combination ofthe'rtwo so that its weight will be added to that of'the motor inapplying pressure to the nozzle 10. If additional pressure is sometimesnecessary to remove hardened and caked dirt from certain spots, theoperator need only press downwardly on the handle to provide for theadditional necessary pressure.

From the foregoing itcan be seen that the present invention provides aneflicient, compact, self-contained cleaning appliance complete in and ofitself in which the parts are arranged in line from the bottom to thetop with the heavier parts adjacent the bottom so that the Weightthereof is applied to the nozzle rather than to the handle and in whichthe supporting framework is formed by essential operating parts of thedevice.

The appliance includes all of the necessary parts for applying thecleaning solution to the floor, for scrubbing the floor with thecleaning solution and for drying the floor by removing the dirty watertherefrom.

Where the words detergent solution. or soapy water are used herein, theterm is meant to include any cleaning fluid, even water. Where the termdirty water has been used herein, the term is meant to include the dirtycleaning fluid whatever it may be.

While I have shown and described but a single embodiment of myinvention, it is to be understood that that embodiment is to be taken asillustrative only and not in a limiting sense. I do not wish to belimited to the specific structure shown and described but wish toinclude all equivalent variations thereof except aslimited by the scopeof the claims.

-I claim:

1. A self contained floor cleaning appliance of the type having a nozzlefor movement over the surface to be cleaned in which the weight of theappliance is mainly carried by the nozzle and the parts of the apparatusare arranged in alignment along a manipulating handle which extendsupwardly and rearwardly from the nozzle; said appliance including in theorder named, a scrubbing and water pick-up portion, a suction creatingportion, a detergent dispensing and dirty water storage portion, a waterseparation portion and a manipulating and control portion; a combinedscrubbing and water pick-up nozzle at said scrubbing and water pick-upportion; a motor-fan unit at said suction creating portion; a singledouble compartment combined detergent dispensing and dirty watercollecting tank at said detergent dispensing and dirty water collectingportion; a combined water separator and non-return water valve vessel atsaid water separation portion in gravity fiow communication with saidtank; said tank being separable from said vessel and a handle hand gripand detergent dispensing control at said manipulating and controlportion; suction tubes con necting said nozzle to said water separatorand said water separator to the suction side of said motor-fan unit;said motor-fan unit, tank and water separator being supported inend-to-end relationship, said handle and said suction tubes serving tohold the aforementioned parts in assembled aligned relationship.

2. An appliance according to clairn l in which said tank and said waterseparator and non-return water valve vessel are supported so as to bepositioned above said handle and said suction tubes.

3. An appliance according to claim 1 in which said suction conduitsinclude a lower suction tube section, a wet suction tube section and adry suction tube section and a casting formed with bores connecting theupper end of said lower suction tube section to the lower end of saidwet suction tube section, receiving the lower end of said handle andreceiving the lower end of said dry suction tube section.

4. An appliance according to claim 3 in which said non-return water flowvalve vessel is in the form of a molding provided with bores receivingthe upper ends of said wet and dry suction tube sections and saidhandle.

5. An appliance according to claim 1 in which said control includes avalved opening in said tank through which detergent is dispensed andmeans actuated by said control for opening and closing said opening.

6. An appliance according to claim 5 including a de- V 6 V tergentdispensing tube leading from said valved opening to a point to the rearof said nozzle;

7. A floor cleaning appliance comprising, acombined floor scrubbing andwater pick-up nozzle; a lower suction tube section extending upwardlyand rearwardly from said nozzle; a motor-fan unit alongside of saidlower suction tube section; a wet suction tube section, a dry suctiontube section and a handle section above and in line with said nozzle,said motor-fan unit and said lower suction tube section; a castingbetween said lower suction tube section and said wet and dry suctiontube sections and said handle section; said castinjg being formed with aleft hand bore receiving the upper end of said lower suction tubesection and the lower end of said wet suction tube section, a right handbore receiving the lower end of said dry suction tube section and acentral bore receiving the lower end of said handle section; saidmotor-fan unit being supported by and beneath said casting; meansassociated with said casting for forming a suction duct between saidright hand bore and the suction side of said fan; a molding above and inline with said wet and dry suction tube sections and said handle sectionand forming a combined water separator and non-return water valvearrangement; said molding being formed with a left handbore receivingthe upper end of said wet suction tube section and communicating withthe inlet of said water separator, a right hand bore receiving the upperend of'said dry suction tube section and communicating with the outletof said water separator and a central through bore receiving said handlesection; said handle section extending above said molding to form a handgrip portion; said casting and said molding forming opposed facingsurfaces at the opposite ends of said wet and dry suction tube sections;a combined detergent dispensing and dirty water collecting tank clampedbetween said surfaces and overlying said wet and dry suction tubesections and said handle section; a passageway formed in said moldingfor leading dirty water from said water separator to said tank; adispensing valve in the lower part of said tank for draining detergentsolution from said tank; a detergent dispensing duct means for leadingdetergent solution from the outlet of said valve to the floor at therear of said nozzle and means operable from the hand grip portion ofsaid handle for opening and closing said valve.

8. A cleaning appliance according to claim 7 in which said lower suctiontube section, said casting, said wet and dry suction tube sections, saidhandle and said molding forms the backbone or supporting framework forsaid appliance.

9. A cleaning appliance according to claim 7 in which a rotary cam clampcoacts with the upper surface of said casting to force the upper end ofsaid tank into contact with the lower surface of said molding.

10. A suction cleaning apparatus comprising; a nozzle, a motor-fan unit,a combined detergent dispensing and dirty water storage tank and acombined water separator and non-return water valve vesselarranged inend to end relationship in that order; a manipulating handle extendingfrom said water separator vessel to a point beyond said vessel to form ahand grip'portion; said handle lying beneath said tank and vessel; saidmotor-fan unit being supported from the end of said handle opposite saidhand grip portion; said vessel being supported by said handle betweensaid hand grip portion and said motor-fan unit; said tank beingdetachably clamped between said vessel and said motor-fan unit; suctionconduits connecting said nozzle to said water separator and said waterseparator to the suction side of said motorfan unit; means for leadingdirty water from said vessel to said tank; means for dispensingdetergent from said tank onto the surface to be cleaned and means forconnecting the lower end of said handle to that portion of said suctionconduit leading from said nozzle whereby the entire apparatus may besupported on said nozzle 7 with the hand grip portion of said handlegrasped in the 1,979,797 hand of the operator. 2,137,944 7 V 2,531,370References Cited in the file 'ofithis pgpent 2, 07,0 8

UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 1,057,347 Kenney Mar. .25, 19.13

1,687,283 Deutsoher 0m. 9,.1928 557,683

8 Finnell Nov. 6, 1934 MaicLeod Nov. 22, 1938 Thompson I 'Nov. 21, 1950Minerley Aug. 19, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Nov. 30, 1943

